Guide for Authors

Guide for Authors.

Authors are requested to follow the guidelines below to ensure consistency, quality, and smooth processing of their submissions. Manuscripts not complying with these instructions may be returned for revision prior to peer review.
Specific Instructions for Different Types of Manuscripts
To ensure clarity, rigor, and compliance with ethical and reporting standards, authors are requested to follow these guidelines when submitting different categories of manuscripts:
1. Observational Studies

Authors submitting observational studies (cross-sectional, cohort, case-control, etc.) must:
Follow the STROBE (Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology) guidelines.
Clearly state the study design in the title and methods section.
Provide detailed methodology, including sampling technique, inclusion/exclusion criteria, and methods of data collection.
Include tables/figures to summarize key findings.
Discuss limitations such as selection bias, confounding, and missing data.
Include an ethical approval number and the name of the approving Institutional Review Board (IRB).
Indicate if written informed consent was obtained from participants.
2. Case Reports
For case reports, authors must:
Use the CARE (Case Report) guidelines for structuring the manuscript.
Provide a clear title that includes “Case Report”.
Include patient demographics, clinical presentation, diagnostic work-up, management, and outcomes.
Provide discussion highlighting clinical relevance, novelty, or educational value.
Include high-quality images (e.g., radiographs, histopathology) with patient identity removed.
Obtain written informed consent from the patient or legal guardian for publication, and include a statement to this effect in the manuscript.
Ethical approval may not be necessary for a single case report but should be sought where required by institutional policies.
3. Animal Studies
For animal-based research, authors must:
Adhere to the ARRIVE (Animal Research: Reporting of In Vivo Experiments) guidelines.
Provide detailed methodology including animal species, strain, sex, age, housing conditions, and care.
Specify the number of animals used and justification for sample size.
Describe randomization, blinding, and humane endpoints.
Include the ethical approval from the institutional animal care and use committee, along with protocol number.
State compliance with national or international animal welfare regulations.

Systematic Reviews
Authors submitting systematic reviews are expected to follow internationally recognized reporting standards. Manuscripts must adhere to the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines. A clear research question should be formulated using the PICO (Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome) framework where applicable.
Methods: The methods section should include a detailed and reproducible search strategy, databases searched, inclusion and exclusion criteria, and data extraction process.
A flow diagram showing the study selection process must be included.
The review must offer a critical synthesis of findings, discuss the strength and limitations of included studies, and clearly state the implications for practice or future research.
Manuscripts reporting clinical trials must comply with the CONSORT (Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials)guidelines to ensure transparency, completeness, and reproducibility.
Authors must clearly identify the study as a clinical trial in the title and abstract. The manuscript should include comprehensive details of the study design, randomization methods, blinding (if applicable), participant flow, and statistical analysis.
A CONSORT flow diagram outlining patient enrollment, allocation, follow-up, and analysis must be included.
Clinical Trials:
All clinical trials must be registered in a recognized clinical trial registry (e.g., ClinicalTrials.gov) prior to patient enrollment, and the registration number should be stated in the methods section.
Informed consent from participants must be obtained, and a statement of ethical approval from an appropriate Institutional Review Board (IRB) or Ethics Committee is mandatory, including the approval number and institution.
Authors should ensure the trial’s primary and secondary outcomes are clearly stated and consistently reported across all sections of the manuscript. Any adverse events or protocol deviations should also be documented.
not meeting these standards may be returned for revision before peer review.
General Instructions:

1. Title Page
The title page must include:
Manuscript title (concise, informative, and without abbreviations)
Full names of all authors
Institutional affiliations (including department, institution, city, and country)
Corresponding author’s contact information (email, phone, mailing address)
Word count for abstract and manuscript
Type of article (e.g., Original Article, Review, Case Report)

2. Abstract
Should be structured (for original articles) into: Background, Objective, Methods, Results, and Conclusion
Maximum word count: usually 250 words
Avoid citations, abbreviations, and references to tables/figures

3. Keywords
Provide 4–6 keywords that reflect the study’s core content
Avoid repeating words already in the title
Use terms from the MeSH (Medical Subject Headings) vocabulary when possible

4. Introduction
Brief background explaining the context of the research
State the research problem, significance, objectives and rationale of the study clearly
Avoid an extensive literature review

5. Materials and Methods
Describe the study design, population/sample, sampling method, inclusion/exclusion criteria
Detail the data collection methods, instruments used, and procedures followed
Clearly describe the statistical methods used, including software and thresholds for significance
Include ethical approval and informed consent statements, with protocol number and approving body

6. Results
Present findings in a clear, logical sequence
Use tables and figures to enhance understanding; avoid duplicating information
Include relevant statistics: p-values, confidence intervals, etc.
Do not interpret the data in this section

7. Discussion
Interpret the findings in context of existing literature
Highlight the novelty, implications, and potential applications of the results
Discuss limitations and suggest future directions
Avoid repeating the results or overstating conclusions

8. Conclusion
Provide a concise summary of key findings and their relevance
Should be supported by data from the current study
Avoid introducing new information

9. References
The journal follows the Vancouver style of referencing, which is a numeric citation system widely used in biomedical and health sciences literature.
Authors are required to adhere strictly to this format when citing sources in the manuscript.
In-text Citations
References must be cited in the text using Arabic numerals in superscript (e.g., ...as previously reported.¹)
Numbers should be assigned in the order of appearance in the text. The same number is used throughout the manuscript when the same source is cited again.
Place citation numbers outside periods and commas, and inside colons and semicolons (e.g., “...has been widely used.³”).
For citing multiple references at once, list them as hyphenated ranges (e.g., ...several studies¹–³,⁵,⁷).
Reference List
A numbered reference list should be provided at the end of the manuscript, corresponding to the order of citation in the text.
Use standard abbreviations for journal titles as listed in Index Medicus.
List up to six authors. If more than six, list the first six followed by “et al.”
Mention DOI at the end of reference where available.
Follow the punctuation and formatting exactly, as demonstrated in the examples below.
Examples
Journal Article:

Iqbal M, Ali S, Khan A, Hussain T, Rafiq M, Khan R, et al. Prevalence of anemia in pregnant women. Pak J Med Sci. 2023;39(1):55–60.
Book:

Kumar V, Abbas AK, Aster JC. Robbins and Cotran Pathologic Basis of Disease. 10th ed. Philadelphia: Elsevier; 2020.
Chapter in a Book:

Khan N, Ahmed M. Disorders of Hemostasis. In: Ali S, editor. Clinical Hematology. Lahore: UHS Press; 2021. p. 210–25.
Online Resource:

World Health Organization. Laboratory biosafety manual [Internet]. 3rd ed. Geneva: WHO; 2004 . Available from: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9241546506 (Cited on: July 5,2025)
Thesis/Dissertation:
Kay JG. Intracellular cytokine trafficking and phagocytosis in macrophages [dissertation]. St Lucia (AU): University of Queensland; 2007
Important Notes
All references must be accurate and up-to-date.
Do not cite unpublished data or personal communications unless absolutely necessary; if cited, these must be clearly identified in the text but not included in the reference list.
Software like EndNote, or Mendeley can be used to manage Vancouver-style references efficiently.

10. Tables
Each table should be numbered (e.g., Table 1) and include a descriptive title
Place tables at the end of the manuscript or submit as separate files (depending on journal policy)
Provide footnotes for abbreviations or statistical notations
Do not duplicate data already presented in figures

11. Figures
Submit figures in high resolution (minimum 300 dpi) in TIFF, JPEG, or PNG format
Number all figures consecutively and provide clear legends below each figure
Use color only when essential
Remove any patient-identifying information

12. Acknowledgments
Include any non-author contributions such as funding sources, data collection assistance, or institutional support
Mention any grant/funding agency with the grant number

13. Conflict of Interest
Authors must declare any conflicts of interest, financial or otherwise
If none, state “The authors declare no conflict of interest.”

14. Ethical Considerations
Manuscripts involving human or animal research must include an ethical statement
Include IRB approval details and informed consent where applicable
For case reports, written consent for publication from the patient is mandatory

15. Formatting and Style
Use standard font (e.g., Times New Roman, 12 pt), double-spacing, and 1-inch margins
Use section headings: Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusion
Number pages consecutively
Submit the manuscript as a Microsoft Word (.doc/.docx) file

16. Supplementary Material (if any)
Authors may submit supporting data, additional tables/figures, or videos
Indicate in the main manuscript where supplementary material is referenced

17. Submission Process
Authors are required to submit their manuscripts electronically via the Online Journal System (e-Publishing).
To do so, authors must register and log in using the user-friendly submission portal available on our official website.
18. Authorship Criteria
Authorship should be according to International Committee of Medical Journal Editors( ICMJE )criteria which is based on substantial contributions to:
Conception or design of the work
Data acquisition, analysis, or interpretation
Drafting or revising the manuscript critically
Final approval of the version to be published
All listed authors must meet all four criteria

19. Plagiarism Policy
Manuscripts will be checked for plagiarism using appropriate software
Plagiarism in any form will result in rejection or retraction

20. Review and Publication
All submissions undergo initial editorial screening followed by peer review
Authors will be notified of the decision and may be asked to revise
Accepted articles will be published online and/or in print following layout and proofing

For Inquiries, Please Contact:
Feedback
Authors, reviewers, and members of the academic community are encouraged to share their feedback to help enhance the quality of the journal and improve the overall experience for contributors and peer reviewers.
Quality Assurance
To uphold and continuously improve the journal’s standards, the Editorial Board convenes on regukar basis to review all phases of the publication process.